There was a time - a couple of decades ago - when ESOP companies were assumed by many to be weak businesses, with uncertain futures. This image was an outgrowth of press coverage afforded to a relatively modest number of employee-driven (and often union-led) buyout efforts launched during the 1980s, typically as an effort to preserve jobs in the face of a threatened plant closure...continue

Sunday evening, Feb. 10, 2013, will be the opening session of the first-ever Certificate Program for Non-Professional Fiduciaries at the Rady School of Management, UCSD. The program is designed to train and certify mastery of the legal framework, skills and procedures necessary to successfully play that role...continue

The California Center for Employee Ownershipo (CCEO), a joint initiative by the Beyster Institute and the National Center for Employee Ownership, is now live on the web at ownershipcalifornia.org. The CCEO’s objective is to advocate for and promote employee ownership within the state of California...continue

While all kinds of businesses become employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) companies, there is a large percentage of engineering firms that have chosen the ESOP structure. Why so? Like many privately held companies, engineering firms struggle with an optimal long-term succession plan...continue

Originally founded in 1890, Sundt Construction Company was family run until 1972, when it began the transition to an employee-owned company by replacing an existing profit-sharing program with a stock bonus trust...continue

Whether you plan to sell your business to an ESOP or to a third party, demonstrating your company’s financial stability through sound financial statements is a crucial step in successfully exiting your business...continue